Topic: Groundwater

At the beginning of the year, Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs introduced a plan to conserve shrinking rural groundwater supplies. But that, and similar efforts, died in the GOP-controlled Legislature. In rural areas of the state, many communities rely on dwindling groundwater supplies where there are no restrictions on water pumping. Rural Republicans stood with Hobbs in January when she announced her plan to address the problem by creating rural management areas around endangered groundwater basins where pumping would be restricted. But it didn’t get consideration by legislative Republicans. Hobbs said Tuesday she hasn’t given up. “We made progress and we’ve clearly shown the support for this kind of legislation exists across the state and that rural Arizonans want something done and we’ll continue to find a way to get that done,” she said.

Other Arizona water law news:

• Casa Grande Dispatch (Ariz.): Many in Pinal welcome ‘ag-to-urban,’ with some concerns
• Arizona PBS (Phoenix): Video: Agriculture to Urban bill​

On a recent sunny Monday morning, 85-year-old Doug Brown pulled up to a breakfast joint in Willits in his white pickup. Bold white letters on the tinted camper shell window spelled out “Water Witcher,” with Brown’s phone number written just below. Inside the truck was a quiver of wire rods, each tipped with different metals or materials, to be used for Brown’s practice of an archaic tradition: water dowsing. In an age defined by dry spells and dwindling resources, an unlikely group continues to quietly deploy their centuries-old practice in search of water. Called dowsers, water witchers or diviners, members of this eclectic guild claim they can locate the Earth’s hidden reservoirs using primitive technology and intuition, all for a price. 

In all the talk about the San Joaquin Valley’s groundwater restrictions and resulting loss of agriculture, it’s important to consider how transitioning from farming operations to clean-energy production creates construction job opportunities for thousands of area workers. The mandate to meet state clean energy goals by 2045 — and the loss of farmland due to groundwater restrictions under the 2014 Sustainable Groundwater Management Act — have opened the door to a vast solar resource that can keep land economically productive and local people employed in good jobs for the long term. But current law makes these land transitions cumbersome and complicated, hampering the region’s potential to become a solar energy hub. If corrected, the switch from unusable farmland to low-water-use, clean energy projects would generate billions in tax revenue and labor income while lowering household electric bills and cleaning up our air.

Other agriculture and water use news:

• Fresh Plaza: Improved water and labor availability for California stone fruit
• Prism: Blog: Dairies in California’s Central Valley not only pollute with impunity, but with state support

California is now ten years into a revolution in groundwater management. In 2014, the state passed the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) which requires newly formed local groundwater sustainability agencies to develop long-term plans to reduce overdraft by 2040. To date, more than 250 local agencies have written and begun implementing groundwater sustainability plans, with more than 100 plans in action. This has taken enormous effort and represents a significant departure from the prior status quo for groundwater management in California. Many wonder, however, if SGMA is affecting behavior around the use of the groundwater resource yet. Are farmers making decisions around planting or drilling new groundwater wells with future SGMA reductions in mind? If so, are they switching away from permanent crops that may not have available water through 2040? We set out to answer those questions with publicly available data. 

California’s existing groundwater infrastructure may fail to quench the state’s thirst in an increasingly arid future, even as officials celebrate widespread conservation achievements, Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) warned on Tuesday. “The data doesn’t lie, and it is telling us that our water system is unprepared for California’s hotter and drier climate,” Newsom said in a statement. The governor was referring to data published in a semiannual report by the California Department of Water Resources that morning. The report, which indicated California is collecting more groundwater data than ever before, showed a 2.2 million acre-foot increase in storage last year. Nonetheless, the governor’s office stressed that the Golden State still lacks adequate water infrastructure to provide Californians with the resources they will need in future projected climate conditions.

Other California groundwater news:

• San Francisco Chronicle: California groundwater levels see another bump — but long-term trend still grim
• The SJV Sun (Fresno, Calif.): Newsom hypes boosted groundwater storage in push for Delta Tunnel
• Office of Gov. Gavin Newsom: News release: California needs more than groundwater to ensure water sustainability
• Public Policy Institute of California: Blog: Groundwater markets 101
• California Department of Water Resources: News release: DWR highlights successful partnership with California’s farming community to protect groundwater supplies
  

The Arizona House is taking up the so-called “Ag to Urban bill.” The Senate approved the bipartisan measure Thursday. Also known as Senate Bill 1611, the measure provides what Senate Natural Resources Chair Thomas “T.J.” Shope calls solutions to Arizona’s most pressing issues: groundwater protection and skyrocketing home prices due to low supply. Under the bill, farmers would be allowed to sell their land and water rights to developers who will in turn build for-sale housing to meet the needs of Arizona’s growing population. In a press release, Shope, who’s also the Senate president pro tempore, called this “the most consequential piece of groundwater legislation” in decades. ”An analysis of the Ag-to-Urban program by the Arizona Department of Water Resources reveals our state will save 9.6-million-acre feet of water over the next 100 years,” said the Republican senator.

Other Arizona groundwater news:

• The Real Deal: Proposed law gives developers OK to use farmers’ water for growth in Phoenix metro

… After trying and failing for more than two decades to pump ancient groundwater from beneath the Mojave Desert and sell it to Southern California water districts, the controversial company (Cadiz) has set its sights on new customers over the border in the Grand Canyon State. … On Monday, the Interior Department announced plans to sign a memorandum of understanding with the latest incarnation of the project, called the Mojave Groundwater Bank, touting it as “an important tool to improve drought resiliency in the Colorado River Basin” though recognizing that it is only in “early development.” And on Tuesday, the Trump administration official leading Colorado River negotiations for the federal government suggested to water power players in Arizona that they consider the project. … Opponents of the project, including conservation groups who say it could harm sensitive desert ecosystems, still see it as the same old concept.

Other desert water news:

• Los Angeles Times: Efforts to reduce dust from dry Owens Lake bed are helping, report finds

As the Senate continues to comb through the Big Beautiful Bill, 258 million acres of public land across the western U.S., including large swaths of California, could soon be eligible for sale. A map published by the Wilderness Society, a nonprofit land conservation organization, reveals which parcels of land across 11 states would be up for grabs, in accordance with the land sale proposal detailed by Sen. Mike Lee, a Republican from Utah and the chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. If the budget is passed by the July 4 deadline, an estimated 16 million acres in California are at risk of being sold over the next five years. Those vulnerable parcels of land include areas adjacent to Yosemite National Park, Mount Shasta, Big Sur and Lake Tahoe. … In all, up to 3 million acres across all states would be authorized to be sold out of 258 million eligible acres across the West.

Other public land sale news:

• WyoFile (Lander, Wyo.): Map shows iconic Wyoming landscapes could be developed under GOP budget, land sale plan​
• Arizona Daily Star (Tucson): Parts of Sabino Canyon, Mt. Lemmon, others could be sold under Senate bill
• The Denver Post (Colo.): These Colorado public lands could be eligible for sale under Republican budget bill
• E&E News by Politico: Committee limits use of public lands in reconciliation

In the desert of landlocked Arizona, where the Colorado River crisis has put water use under a microscope, Mainstream Aquaculture has a fish farm where it’s growing the tropical species barramundi, also known as Asian sea bass, for American restaurants. … But some experts question whether growing fish on a large scale in an arid region can work without high environmental costs. That question comes down to what people collectively decide is a good use of water. … The farm uses groundwater, not Colorado River water. … Arizona has seven areas around the state where groundwater is rigorously managed. Dateland doesn’t fall into one of those, so the only rule that really governs it is a law saying if you land own there, you can pump a “reasonable” amount of groundwater. … What might be considered “reasonable” depends from crop to crop, and there’s really no precedent for aquaculture, an industry that hasn’t yet spread commercially statewide.

Other water use and conservation news:

• The Business Journals: Country clubs face a water challenge as their fortunes rise​
• Arizona Republic (Phoenix): It’s a thirsty world for Arizona wildlife. How a state agency keeps water basins full
• Deseret News (Salt Lake City, Utah): Opinion: The wisdom for water in the West

A small panel managed to extract a glassful of clean water from the bone-dry air of Death Valley in California, which suggests that the device could provide the vital resource to arid regions. The atmosphere over extremely dry land can hold large volumes of water, but extracting this in significant quantities without power is difficult. In the past, researchers have come up with innovative ways to tap into this reservoir, such as fog-catching nets made from simple mesh fabrics or spider silk-like artificial fibres, but they have struggled to make them work effectively in real-world conditions. Now, Xuanhe Zhao at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and his colleagues have developed a power-free water-collecting device that is about 0.5 metres tall and 0.1 m across. It is comprised of a glass panel that contains an absorbent hydrogel, a jelly-like substance made from long-chain polymers, and lithium salts that can store water molecules.

New subsidence guidelines from the Department of Water Resources are expected to drop on San Joaquin Valley water managers any day, a prospect that has them both hopeful and worried. The intent of the guidelines is to provide clarity within the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA), which requires overdrafted regions to enact plans to bring aquifers into balance by 2040. One of SGMA’s primary goals is to halt subsidence, land sinking. Excessive groundwater pumping has caused huge swaths of the San Joaquin Valley to sink, damaging canals, roads and increasing flood risks. Some areas have collapsed on such a large scale, the phenomenon can be seen from space, earning the nickname  “the Corcoran bowl.” Subsidence, though, has been a tricky devil to manage. 

Other groundwater and subsidence news:

• Arizona State University: News release: ASU helps rural communities tackle local water problems​
• Phys.org: Study offers detailed look at winter flooding in California’s central valley
• KVPR (Fresno, Calif.): Podcast: As California regulates groundwater use, a sinking ground is a persisting problem

You may have heard of the term subsidence but what does it mean? Subsidence is the sinking of land which can be caused by various factors including groundwater pumping. In California, subsidence has been documented for over a century and is a growing issue that impacts our water infrastructure and the communities who rely on it. This summer, DWR plans to release a draft best management practices document to help local agencies minimize subsidence impacts around the state. For more information about DWR’s efforts to sustainable manage groundwater and reduce the impacts of subsidence visit DWR’s Groundwater Management page.

The state Water Resources Control Board Tuesday passed a resolution to send the Chowchilla subbasin back under the purview of the Department of Water Resources. So far, it is the only subbasin of seven in the San Joaquin Valley to have succeeded in making the U-turn away from potential probationary status.  Water Board members noted that early engagement from Chowchilla’s four groundwater sustainability agencies (GSAs) was key. … The Chowchilla subbasin has experienced more than five feet of subsidence in the last decade alone, especially in its western portion where a significant layer of Corcoran clay exists. In its newest groundwater plan, managers cranked down allowable groundwater pumping with both voluntary and mandatory policies, capping subsidence rates at two feet in 2025, with a goal of zero subsidence after 2040. 

Other groundwater news:

• State Water Resources Control Board: News release: Chowchilla Subbasin
• Action News Now (Chico, Calif.): Tehama County delays action on sinking land issue until 2026
• SJV Water: Public invited to Kern groundwater workshops
• Sierra Sun (Truckee, Calif.): Local water agencies host public meeting on Martis Valley Groundwater Plan
• Western Water Notes: Blog: Groundwater matters
  — Colorado River groundwater loss, a local and national problem

Researchers at Stanford are hoping to jump start a water revolution in California. The goal is to rapidly expand the areas where we store water – not by building reservoirs, but by returning millions of gallons back into the ground in a new and efficient way. … A recent study found the elevation of San Jose has risen slightly over the decades, while dozens of other cities around the country are steadily sinking. One common factor is groundwater. … Valley Water manages a sophisticated system of ponds and groundwater injection wells to help replenish the area’s aquifers. While sites, like the Laguna Seca basin at Coyote Valley are being conserved as open space, allowing additional stormwater to sink into the water table. These are long term strategies that are paying off. … And now, researchers at Stanford’s Doerr School of Sustainability are hoping to use ground-breaking technology to expand groundwater recharge across California’s Central Valley. 

Other groundwater and subsidence news:

• Record Searchlight (Redding, Calif.): Land sinking in Red Bluff, Corning: What it means for Tehama and can it happen in Redding?
• Las Vegas Review-Journal: How Lake Mead slows Las Vegas from sinking, the country’s ‘invisible hazard’

Fallout from the ongoing who-owes-what dispute over the still sinking Friant-Kern Canal led to some awkward and very carefully worded moments during a meeting to discuss replacement pump stations. At its May 22 meeting, the Friant Water Authority ultimately voted to restart the bidding process to build four replacement pump stations to deliver water from the canal to the Saucelito Irrigation District. But the board added some strings. It will only start construction if: Litigation filed by Saucelito and its sister districts, Porterville and Terra Bella, regarding the “Cost Recovery Methodology” was resolved through a settlement or verdict; Friant had sufficient cash on hand and certainty of funding sources necessary to cover future payments for the parallel canal and pump stations. The vote elicited a mixed reaction.

Arizona’s governor and the GOP-controlled Legislature are at odds over regulating groundwater pumping in the state’s rural areas — and time is running out. Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs stood with local Republican leaders at the start of this year’s session, optimistic that Republicans in the Legislature would embrace her proposal to create rural groundwater management areas. But almost four months later, talks have stalled and frustration has mounted as both sides try to find a solution to conserve water that’s increasingly becoming more scarce amid a prolonged drought. Negotiators have not met since early April, Hobbs’ office said. Around the same time, Republicans and some interest groups grew frustrated with a separate proposal by the Arizona Department of Water Resources to slash overdraft in the Willcox Basin by a percentage that is “unattainable,” said Sen. Tim Dunn, one of the Republican negotiators.

Other Arizona water news:

• Herald/Review Media (Phoenix, Ariz.): Arizona Farm and Ranch Group fighting AG Mayes over Saudi alfalfa lawsuit
• KJZZ (Phoenix, Ariz.): Mayes sued to stop Fondomonte pumping groundwater. How might that affect Arizona farmers?

The Kern County Water Agency named two longtime employees to run the powerful entity after the board let its general manager go just one month before his contract was set to expire. Administrative Operations Manager Nick Pavletich and State Water Project Manager Craig Wallace will co-manage the agency while a recruitment committee begins the search for a new general manager. The two were named as interim managers after a special meeting held Tuesday morning. Pavletich, who has been with the agency for 24 years, will oversee local activities. Wallace, who has worked at the agency a little more than 10 years, will oversee the agency’s statewide activities with a focus on the Delta Conveyance Project, a tunnel proposed to bring water beneath the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. The agency board also announced it would form an advisory committee of board members to work with the co-managers “to ensure stability.”

Seeking to prevent the California State Water Resources Control Board from stepping in to regulate groundwater in critically overdrafted subbasins, local agencies are working to correct deficiencies in their plans to protect groundwater. With groundwater sustainability agencies formed and groundwater sustainability plans evaluated, the state water board has moved to implement the 2014 Sustainable Groundwater Management Act, or SGMA. … Under probation, groundwater extractors in the Tulare Lake subbasin face annual fees of $300 per well and $20 per acre-foot pumped, plus a late reporting fee of 25%. SGMA also requires well owners to file annual groundwater extraction reports.

Last week, Assemblywoman Esmeralda Soria introduced AB 2060 to help divert local floodwater into regional groundwater basins. AB 2060 seeks to streamline the permitting process to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife in support of Flood-MAR activities when a stream or river has reached flood-monitor or flood stage as determined by the California Nevada River Forecast Center or the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB). This expedited approval process would be temporary during storm events with qualifying flows under the SWRCB permit.

Related article: 

• Agri-Pulse: New bill to streamline groundwater recharge